Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten to dent Swiss exports. They have also sparked what Joseph de Weck, a Swiss historian and political scientist, calls an identity crisis in a country long used to navigating between great powers. Mr Trump treats trade deficits as the source of almost every American ill—debt, deindustrialisation, even the opioid crisis. Tariffs […]
Swiss business and environmentalists warn against scrapping imputed rent
Switzerland’s parliament wants to scrap Switzerland’s quirky taxable imputed rental on owner-occupied homes. A vote on 28 September 2025 to impose a new tax on holiday homes is the first step to scrapping this taxable fictional rent. But there is a catch: the change would end most deductions for mortgage interest, home maintenance and environmental […]
Swiss jobs market: more workers, more jobless
Switzerland’s labour market looked both buoyant and brittle in the second quarter of 2025. Employment edged up, but unemployment did too, according to a report published by the Federal Statistical Office this week. The number of people in work rose by 0.6% year on year to 5.36m, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Adjusted for […]
Bern rejects extra emergency-room charge
This week, Bern decided patients who turn up at accident-and-emergency units with trivial complaints should not face extra charges, reported RTS. On Wednesday it rejected a parliamentary proposal to let cantons impose a levy on such visits, arguing it would add bureaucracy without easing pressure on hospitals. The idea came from Thomas Weibel, a former […]
Bern to have more control during the next pandemic
Much time has passed since the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the Swiss government has not forgotten the challenges the country faced trying to coordinate the efforts of cantonal and federal authorities to manage the situation. This week, Bern set out draft laws governing how decisions will be made during future pandemics, reported RTS. Switzerland must be […]
The F-35 fiasco – price hikes, tariffs, and US intransigence
Washington has refused to guarantee a fixed price for Switzerland’s 36 F-35 fighter jets, reported RTS. The total bill will therefore exceed the CHF 6 billion approved by voters. After weeks of talks with senior White House officials—including a call between America’s defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, and Switzerland’s defence minister, Martin Pfister—the United States has […]
Swiss government urges voters to back a tax on second homes to axe imputed rent
The Federal Council and Parliament urge voters to back, on 28 September 2025, a constitutional change that would let cantons levy a special property tax on owner-occupied second homes. The measure is a prerequisite for a wider reform of housing taxation that would scrap the “imputed rent” now charged to home owners. At a press […]
Swiss federal deficit far smaller than feared
Switzerland now expects a much smaller federal deficit in 2025, reported RTS. The shortfall should be about CHF 200 million, versus the CHF 800 million pencilled into the budget. Bern says the improvement does not alter its savings programme. The better than expected result driven by a windfall rather than a trend. The upgrade stems […]
Most Swiss against making concessions to the US
Swiss voters expect pain from America’s new border taxes but do not want Bern to blink. In a YouGov Switzerland poll, two-thirds (66%) say the 39% tariff on Swiss exports to the United States—introduced on 7 August 2025—will significantly harm the economy. Only 5% foresee little or no impact. Despite that, just a quarter (25%) […]
Deadly week in the Swiss Alps
Over the last week, 9 people have died in sporting accidents in Switzerland’s Alps, reported RTS. In addition, the body of a climber that went missing on 11 July 2025 was recovered. On Monday, Valais’s cantonal police said that two climbers had found a body on the Lagginhorn on 5 August 2025. The body, which […]
